HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-062-06/04/2002-MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MANUAL AND ESTABLISHING POLICIES RELATING TO THE REC RESOLUTION 2002-062
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MANUAL
AND ESTABLISHING POLICIES RELATING TO THE RECRUITMENT AND
APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
WHEREAS, the City currently has several boards and commissions appointed by the City
Council; and
WHEREAS,the information pertaining to membership lists,descriptions of each board and
commission, meeting schedules, conflict of interest guidelines, appeal procedures, and general
information regarding membership limitations,attendance policies and other responsibilities of the
City's boards and commissions is contained in a Boards and Commissions Manual(the"Manual"),
maintained by the City Clerk, which Manual was last adopted by the City Council by Resolution
2001-26; and
WHEREAS,Resolution 2001-26 requires that amendments to the Manual which constitute
policy changes shall be made only by the Council by resolution, except that changes that are
consistent with resolutions and ordinances adopted by the Council may be made administratively by
the City Clerk's Office; and
WHEREAS,the Council Governance Committee has recently recommended certain changes
to the membership requirements and limitations contained in the Manual; and
WHEREAS, the Governance Committee has also recommended changes to the provisions
relating to the preparation ofineeting minutes in an effort to provide the Council with comprehensive
information documenting discussions of individual boards and commissions,particularly with regard
to dissenting opinions; and
WHEREAS,the Governance Committee has also recommended changes to the recruitment
and appointment process for boards and commissions; and
WHEREAS, the Council wishes to adopt the changes recommended by the Governance
Committee.
NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the provisions relating to Membership Limitations, as contained on page 8
in the Boards and Commissions Manual dated January 2002,are hereby amended to read as follows:
Membership Limitations
The following limitations and requirements are applied to board or commission
membership:
No person may serve on any one board or commission for more than two consecutive
three-year terms. In the event that an individual fills the unexpired term of a board
or commission member,that unexpired term shall be counted as a complete term if
the remainder of the unexpired term (from date of appointment to term expiration
date) exceeds 24 months. The foregoing shall become effective August 1, 2002 and
shall not affect any individual during his or her current term, but shall be taken into
consideration for the purpose of determining eligibility for reappointment.
No person will be appointed by the City Council to serve concurrently on more than
one board or commission.
All persons appointed to,or serving on,any board or commission shall be registered
voters (except those under 18 years of age) and shall reside within the Fort Collins
Growth Management Area for at least one year. Any member who relocates outside
of the Growth Management Area during his or her term of service on a board or
commission, shall resign his or her membership. These requirements shall apply to
all individuals appointed, or reappointed, after August 1, 2002 and shall not apply
to applicants for or members of the General Employees Retirement Committee.
Section 2. That the provisions relating to the preparation of meeting minutes, as contained
on pages 19 through 21 in the Boards and Commissions Manual dated January 2002, are hereby
amended to read as follows:
Minutes
Minutes must be taken of any meeting of a board or commission(or committee of a
board or commission) at which the adoption of any proposed policy, position,
resolution, rule, regulation, or formal action occurs or could occur. The minutes
must be open to public inspection and a copy must be filed with the City Clerk upon
approval. Section 2-73 of the City Code requires that approval of minutes shall occur
no later than the next regular meeting of the board,commission or committee,except
in those instances when an audio or video recording has been made and maintained.
Discussions that occur in an executive session shall be subject to the same audio
recording requirements and related procedures and regulations as are contained in§2-
33 of the City Code pertaining to executive sessions of the City Council and its
committees. The minutes of a meeting during which an executive session is held
shall reflect the topic of the discussion at the executive session.
Except with regard to the documentation of executive sessions, state law and City
Code do not prescribe the level of detail to be contained in the minutes.As provided
in the City Code, minutes of executive sessions are not taken. However, the City
Code does require that the executive session be tape recorded in most circumstances
(see"Executive Sessions"for more details). At a minimum,the minutes of a meeting
should contain the following information:
Date, time and location of the meeting.
Listing of members present and a statement that such members
constituted a quorum.
General outline of each major topic discussed, considered, and the
outcome.
Comments of individual board members which explain the
individual's viewpoints and opinions.
Verbatim(to the extent possible)recital of all motions along with the
recording of how each member voted on each motion.
Statements made by individual board members in support of their
vote. (Note: it is especially important that board members state, and
the minutes reflect, reasons for dissenting opinions.)
Detailed recital of all formal action taken.
If a motion is made to go into executive session, the minutes must
reflect the topic for the executive session in as much detail as possible
without compromising the purpose for which the executive session is
to be held. The specific citation to the provision of the City Code that
authorizes the board or commission to meet in executive session, as
well as the vote on the motion, must be carefully documented. (See
next section on executive sessions.) Additionally, the time of
convening and adjourning the executive session should be noted.
Time of adjournment.
In situations where the board or commission is acting in a quasi-judicial manner or
is otherwise conducting an important or controversial meeting, the minutes of a
meeting may not be sufficient to adequately record the events of the meeting. In
those situations, City staff or the City Attorney's Office may recommend that the
meeting be electronically recorded or recorded with the assistance of a court reporter.
Even in this situation, minutes should still be taken as the electronic recording or
stenographer's notes may never be transcribed.
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Approval of Minutes
Any additions,deletions,or corrections to the minutes should be presented by board
and staff members.
A motion should be made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting
as amended.
The approved minutes should be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the board
or commission.
Discussion Items
While the minutes should be as accurate as possible,the secretary is not required to
record every remark made at the meeting. The secretary should not make the minutes
a verbatim transcript.
The minutes should include a description of each item being discussed. Listing
questions and answers during discussion of each item is not necessary; however,
comments that summarize board member positions on each item should be included
as support for each board member's vote on each issue. (Note: It is important that
the minutes reflect the reasons for dissenting votes.)
The exact wording of any motion made should be included in the minutes, and the
maker and second of the motion should be noted. If the motion is approved or
defeated unanimously, such should be noted. If the vote on a motion is split, the
record should reflect those voting in favor of the motion and those voting against the
motion.
NOTE: Special matters --such as annexation and zoning hearings -- may require
considerably more detail. Items being forwarded for City Council
consideration should also include more detail.
Adjournment
Recording adjournment of a meeting in the minutes is advisable, since it indicates
whether the meeting was finally adjourned,or adjourned to another time prior to the
next regular meeting. The adjournment should specify the time the meeting was
adjourned, and if the meeting was adjourned to a later date and hour.
Filing and Distribution of Minutes
Written minutes of board and commission meetings are considered permanent
records of the municipality. The Code of the City of Fort Collins requires boards and
commissions to file minutes with the City Clerk for incorporation into the records of
the municipality. In addition to the signed copy , an electronic version should be
provided to the City Clerk which will be uploaded to the website. Four copies of the
minutes should also be provided to the City Manager's Office for distribution to the
Mayor, Council Liaison, City Manager and the media.
Tape recordings do not take the place of written minutes and should be used only in
preparation of minutes. It is recommended that tape recordings of meetings be
retained at least until the minutes are approved, and ideally for 2 to 3 months.
Minutes shall be taken of any meeting of any board or commission of the city,or any
committee of such board or commission, at which the adoption of any proposed
policy,position,resolution,rule,regulation or formal action occurs or could occur.
Such minutes shall be open to public inspection and shall be filed with the City Clerk
upon approval by such board,commission or committee. Such approval shall occur
no later than the next regular meeting of the board,commission or committee,except
in those instances when an audio or video recording has been made and maintained
by the City of the board, commission or committee meeting which is the subject of
the minutes. The minutes of a meeting during which an executive session is held
shall reflect the general topic of the discussion at the executive session.
Section 3. That the Council hereby establishes the following policies relating to the
recruitment and appointment process for boards and commissions:
• Individuals shall be limited to applying for membership on no more than two
(2)boards or commissions.
• Applications received after the application deadline established by the City
Clerk's Office will not be considered for current vacancies, but must be
placed on file for a period of one (1) year for consideration in the event of
future vacancies.
• Prior to the expiration date of an incumbent's term, an incumbent seeking
reappointment must file with the City Clerk's Office a statement of intent to
seek reappointment, in lieu of a full application, on or before the deadline
established by the City Clerk for filing such statement of intent. If an
incumbent fails to file said statement of intent prior to the deadline
established by the City Clerk, the incumbent's position on the board or
commission will be considered to be vacant upon completion of the
incumbent's term.
• Incumbents seeking reappointment shall not be required to interview for
reappointment unless the Council Liaison requests an interview.
• Incumbents shall be given preference in determining appointments to boards
and commissions unless an incumbent, during his or her tenure as a board
member,has violated any provisions of the City Charter or City Code,or any
policies relating to boards and commissions as may be established by the City
Council.
• The City Clerk's Office shall create advertising materials which accurately
reflect which boards and commissions will have vacancies and which boards
are accepting applications solely for the purpose of establishing eligibility
lists for future vacancies.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins held
this 4th day of.June, A.D. 2002.
Mayor
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City Clerk